If you slip and fall on a flight of stairs, you have high chances of sustaining bruises and injuries. You can file a personal injury claim after such an accident, provided you can show that it was someone else’s fault. To achieve this, you need to start by knowing things that can make the building owner or the tenant liable and find out can i file a lawsuit.
Lack of a warning sign
It is crucial for a building owner or the tenant using the building to put up a warning sign if there is something wrong with the stairs. This is more so when there are ongoing repairs or something faulty in the stairs setting. Such a warning exempts the owner of the building from liability in case a person slips and falls.
Lack of a warning sign on the stairs gives you grounds to find can i file a lawsuit against the people or entity responsible. The owner of the building or the tenant has the responsibility to notify all the users if there is a fault on the stairs. These include the times when cleaning is going on, and the stairs are extra slippery.
Ignored repairs
Your slip and fall accident might result from damages on the stairs, which the owner of the building should have repaired. Most damages on stairs remain undone, especially if they seem minor. Such damages can easily cause serious accidents. You only need to prove that the building owner knew of the damages and did nothing to prevent the impending accidents.
You can take pictures of the damages that caused your slip and fall accident so that you can use the pictures as evidence. The pictures you take will show that the person liable had a chance to fix the damages because they knew the stairs had a problem. Through the pictures, you can prove that the damages have existed for days, weeks or months, and the building owner did nothing to deal with the problem.
Distractions left on the stairs
It is common for employees or other customers to leave things such as washing buckets and brooms on the stairs. Such things can easily result in a slip and fall accident on the stairs, where you can trip on a foreign object getting hurt. Authorities hold the building owner or the tenant who uses the building liable if such objects left carelessly on the stairs cause an accident.
The most effective way of showing that your accident on the stairs results from a foreign object left behind by an employee is through an eyewitness. The people around when the accident occurs will most likely see what happens. They can then testify to the authorities confirming that you could have avoided the accident if the foreign objects were not there. Taking pictures and recording videos can also prove that there were foreign objects that caused your accident.
Distractions along the stairs
Some premises and businesses have stairs with poor lighting or bright lights that can easily blind anyone using the stairs. This is more so with entertainment joints, which prefer to use the brightest lights to draw attention. Such distractions qualify you to sue the premises or the owner of the building.
To prove that the lights along the stairs affected your vision and ultimately resulted in the accident, you need to work closely with people who visit the premises regularly. These include close friends who can confirm that the stairs usually have poor lighting or dazzling lights. The owner of the premises will have to compensate you for any injuries you might have because of the accident.
Increasing chances of your lawsuit on a stairs accident succeeding
Once you get an injury because of falling on a flight of stairs, you need to ensure you collect as much evidence as you can. The evidence should include images of the stairs and anything else that might have played a role in your accident. You can use your phone to record any details that might apply to your lawsuit.
Your next move after falling on a flight of stairs should be to seek medical help. This is regardless of whether you have any visible injuries as they can be internal. You should keep any medical records you get from the doctor who treats you to use these records to show the extent of your injuries.
Contact an Attorney
It is also paramount to contact a competent and knowledgeable lawyer immediately after falling on a flight of stairs. The lawyer will help you in evidence collection and enlighten you on the steps you should follow to legitimate your case. The lawyer will also be your representative in court during your lawsuit or in any negotiations regarding the accident. Therefore, you have the right to file a lawsuit if you fall on a flight of stairs. Involving a lawyer further increases your chances of being successfully compensated.
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